Editor’s note: In the Colorado Classics series, The Denver Post takes a weekly look at individuals who made their mark on the Colorado sports landscape and what they are doing now.

One minute with Jim Burris and even the most rabid baseball fan would fast-forward through the baseball season to get to the hot stove league.

It doesn’t take long with Denver’s onetime baseball guru to realize he’s stuffed full of fascinating stories about baseball when it was undisputedly the national pastime. When Burris gets going with stories about Carl Hubbell, Billy Martin and Joe DiMaggio, he can brighten even the darkest, coldest winter afternoon and take listeners right into spring training.

When he tells of the time, in the second half of the 1968 season, that the Denver Bears collected seven steals of home, with Martin calling the shots from the dugout, there’s wonder if Burris, 84, could have anything more to say.

He’s just getting started.

He moves right into talking about how Hubbell once won a record 24 games in a row over two seasons and compiled a 253-154 record over 16 seasons, but never collected a penny of pension because he pitched before the pension plan was created, in 1947.

“Carl Hubbell was the best pitcher I ever saw, by any stretch of the imagination,” Burris said. “DiMaggio was the best player, but I didn’t see Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb play.”

Burris was Mr. Baseball in Denver as general manager of the Bears for 20 seasons (1965-84), and he rubbed elbows with baseball’s elite. Nine years after Burris’ run with the Bears ended, Denver’s baseball landscape changed, with the arrival of the Colorado Rockies and major-league baseball.

“I was in the game at the very best possible time,” he said. “Naturally, everyone in baseball has the ambition of winding up in the big leagues. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get there, but it was a real fun time to be in the game.”

Burris says the aging Art Fowler was the most effective pitcher he had with the Bears. Fowler led the American Association in saves (15) in 1970 – well into his 40s – and led the Bears’ pitchers in appearances (45) and winning percentage (64.3).

And it would be difficult to top Randy Bass, in Burris’ estimation, because he hit 73 home runs and drove in 248 runs in the 1979 and 1980 seasons combined.

There were other milestones. Ted Uhlaender led the Bears in hits (176), runs (95), triples (10), and batting average (.340) in 1965. Jim Ollom was a 20-game winner in 1966. Steve Dunning recorded 16 complete games with three shutouts in 1975. Jerry Crider won a combined 31 games in the 1967 and 1968 seasons. Terry Francona hit .352 in 1981, and Tim Raines hit .354 with 152 hits in 1980. Lamar Johnson had 163 hits in 1975 and Graig Nettles scored 84 runs and stroked 12 triples in 1968.

“We were in last place when Billy Martin became our manager, but before the season was over, he had our team thinking they were the 1927 Yankees,” Burris said. “We had to win the last game of the season to finish above .500, and he asked if I would give a little beer party for the players. I thought he meant after the season, but he had the party before the game and we won 11-2.

“Billy always told people he liked Denver because it was the only place where he managed that he wasn’t fired.”

Burris can’t have a hot stove session without telling the story of the July 4, 1979, fireworks game at Bears Stadium. Omaha was ahead 14-7 with two outs and a runner on in the bottom of the ninth. The Bears scored nine unearned runs and won 16-14 on a three-run homer by Jim Cox.

“I think I was looked at as being pretty ruthless in changing managers and working agreements,” Burris said. “I never hesitated to change if I thought an organization was running short of players.”

Burris’ time in baseball included a period of growing pains. He was president of the American Association in 1962 when the league folded after Major League Baseball had grabbed Milwaukee and Kansas City in the 1950s.

While president, Burris befriended Bob Howsam, who owned the Bears and the Denver Broncos. Howsam introduced Burris to Gerald and Allan Phipps, who took ownership of the Bears and Broncos, and Burris was hired to be general manager of the Bears in 1965. A year later, he was named general manager of the Broncos for one year.

The Phipps brothers sold the Bears to John Dikeou after the 1984 season. The new ownership changed the team’s name to the Denver Zephyrs, and Burris became a fan at age 61.

In recognition of his work for baseball in Denver, he has been an official guest of the Rockies at every opening day.

Four assistant basketball coaches at Division I schools and a top Adidas executive were among 10 people charged Tuesday with crimes including bribery and fraud as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into corruption in college basketball.

CenturyLink, the telecommunications company that ended its sponsorship agreement with Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall because of his protests during the national anthem last year, said it will not terminate its agreement with current client Emmanuel Sanders.